A fireman died and seven people were injured in a massive fire that engulfed part of the new China Central Television (CCTV) headquarters in Beijing, said a fire control spokesman Tuesday.

Zhang Jianyong, political instructor of the Chaoyang branch of the Beijing fire brigade, died at Chaoyang Hospital at around 3 a.m. Tuesday. Six firefighters and a construction worker suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening, said Luo Yuan, spokesman and deputy chief with the Beijing Fire Control Bureau.

Zhang, 30, inhaled toxic gas while he worked to put out the fire.

Zhang is from Shenyang, capital of northeastern Liaoning Province. His family is on their way to Beijing.

About 600 firemen fought the fire that destroyed the 30-story, 159-meter tall building that houses the nearly-completed luxury Mandarin Oriental Hotel. The fire started at 8:27 p.m. Monday and was put out at around 2 a.m. Tuesday.

CCTV hired staff from a fireworks company to ignite several hundred large festive firecrackers outside the building, which caused the fire, Luo said.

The western, southern and eastern external walls of the building were burned, but the major structure was not damaged, the spokesman said.

In addition to the hotel, the building also houses a television studio and an electronic data processing center. The hotel and the electronic data processing center were destroyed, but the studio and the northern external wall were salvaged by firefighters.

The flames paralyzed traffic in the area and halted operation of a subway line Monday night.

Xinhua reporters on the scene said about 80 percent of the building was charred. No sign of damage was seen on the CCTV main tower about 200 meters away.

Tuesday morning, the site was crowded with journalists snapping photos of the ruins, as well as several thousand onlookers -- mostly residents who lived near the site and witnessed the fire Monday night. Traffic in the area has returned to normal.

In a statement posted on its Web site Tuesday, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group said the hotel was empty at the time of the fire, though some witnesses claimed they saw some lights on in the building before the fire.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group said it is contracted to manage the hotel but has no ownership interest in the building. The hotel was used during the Olympics, but wasn't slated to officially open until mid-2009.

The hotel and CCTV's main tower were both designed by Rotterdam-based OMA. Total investment is about 5 billion yuan (714million U.S. dollars).

Monday was the traditional Chinese Lantern Festival and fireworks were allowed in downtown Beijing until midnight.

Source: Xinhua